Page 28 of Their After Hours Playbook

“Promise.” He smiled, knowing that he was on the right path. With his other hand, he reached for her silky hair, gently combing a few strands over her ear. Then he trailed his fingers along her jaw, watching as her lips parted and she seemed to struggle with desire. Good. He was grappling with it, too. He’d wanted this since the moment they parted at the airport, and now that Paige was right in front of him, it couldn’t happen fast enough. Heat stormed through him, making him impossibly hard.

He took her hand and led her down the hall to his room, but the instant they were inside, Paige took the lead, stepping in front of him and walking backward to the bed, towing him along. When she reached their destination, he wrapped her up in his arms and drew down the zipper of her dress as he kissed her. With every inch, he was closer to his prize, and that mix of anticipation and gratification was so damn delicious it made his head spin. He pulled her dress from her shoulders, then she wriggled out of it. He quickly unhooked her bra and she ruffled it from her arms, revealing her stunning breasts. They were so full and perfect, he could hardly believe that he got to touch them as he cupped them with his hands and she responded with a low hum. He could hardly believe he got to taste them as he lowered his head and wound his tongue around her nipples, which drew tight beneath his touch.

He slowly skimmed his hands along her waist and hips, then slipped his fingers into her panties and pushed them down to the floor. “Go ahead, Paige. Lie down.”

“No. You. Let me take off your clothes.” She kissed him softly as she unbuttoned his shirt and tugged it up and out of his pants. Every loop of her tongue and brush of her fingers against his overheated skin was only confirmation that this was right. They worked together.

As soon as she’d shucked his pants and boxer briefs, she took his cock in her hand and stroked from base to tip, only amping up his need for her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and delivered a passionate kiss while placing a knee on the bed and pulling her along with him. Paige stretched out before him, raising her arms above her head—an invitation he was so ready to accept. Gathering her wrists in his hand, he pinned them against the bed as he straddled her waist. He wanted so badly to be buried inside her right now, but that would have to wait.

He lowered his head, and he licked the velvety skin of one breast, then the other, over and over again. Her nipples were impossibly taut and tight, and every time he touched them, her skin flooded with warmth and she moaned her approval. He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her. It didn’t take much to imagine a lifetime of exploring her luscious body, learning what she liked and delivering it every time.

He released her wrists and shifted himself until he was kneeling, bracketed by her legs. He reached for one of her ankles, lifted her leg and trailed his other hand along the creamy skin of her inner thigh, traveling down toward her center, but only teasing and tempting by stopping for a second or two before retracing the trail back to her knee. Paige bucked her hips and closed her eyes. His heart worked its way up into his throat, knowing he had her at his mercy. With every pump of blood through his body, he needed her a little more. He was that much more willing to give her everything.

But because of that, he needed everything from her. He lowered her leg, then himself, kissing her deeply. He skimmed her jaw with his lips as she combed her fingers through his hair, curling them possessively. He continued down along her throat, then brushed the undersides of her breasts, coaxing sharp breaths from her. Every kiss, soft or hard or somewhere in between, felt like it was bringing him closer to her. It was hard not to believe that he was erasing the reasons they shouldn’t be together and creating new justification for why they should.

“I need you, Zach. So bad,” Paige muttered.

It was sheer music to his ears. He pressed a few gentle kisses against her belly. “Let me get a condom.” He got up, hating even a moment away from her, and reached into his bedside table for the packet. It was so hot to have her do it, but the truth was that he didn’t want to wait any longer, so he tore open the packet and rolled it on himself. His own touch made the tension in his hips nearly impossible to take. Things were going to be so fiery and intense once he was inside her.

Paige pushed up on her elbows and smiled at him. “Get over here.”

“Gladly.” He stretched out next to her on the bed, his pulse beating wildly.

She rolled to her side to face him, and she pulled her leg up over his hip and kissed him with an open mouth and eager tongue. Heat did more than radiate through his groin and belly, it steamrollered him, enveloping his hips and racing down his thighs. He cupped the side of her face as he took the kiss even deeper, wondering if this was the way to unravel the mystery of Paige. The way to figure out what she wanted and if that thing could ever be him. She rolled to her back and brought him along for the ride. With little effort, he positioned himself at her entrance and drove inside. The moment felt monumental. Las Vegas had been a spur of the moment hookup; this was something more. His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to wrap his mind around her impossible warmth and the way she held on to him so tightly.

Now that their bodies were joined and moving in near-perfect sync, he drew in her sweet smell and kissed her neck. She wrapped her legs around him tighter and slanted her hips whenever he was deepest. It was that extra inch of closeness that left him meeting on the edge of release. His breaths became so shallow that they redefined the word gasp. Paige’s were coming hard and fast now, her lips open and begging for another kiss while her eyes remained closed, lost in the utter bliss of that moment. He willed his peak away while he waited for hers, then she began to claw at his back and he took his chance to capture her mouth as she gave way. It gave them one more way to be impossibly close while they were both at their most vulnerable.

The kiss was chaotic and frantic and he couldn’t imagine anything better as the pleasure barreled through him, causing his muscles to freeze and relax, freeze and relax, over and over again. His mind was a torrent of sensations and feelings, making him feel like he was being hurtled through space. Then he suddenly went into the floating feeling of a free fall, bringing him back to the present, where Paige was beneath him and all was perfect with the world.

He eased off her to catch his breath and she was quick to curl into him. As their breaths became more even, she smoothed her hand over his chest and nudged at his cheek and chin with her nose. Then they fell into another kiss, and he realized that he didn’t want to be anywhere other than with her. He only hoped that she would eventually feel the same way.

Whoa. Paige was startled by how quickly things got hot with Zach. It was as if someone had poured a gallon of gasoline on them, then lit a match and walked away. Even so, it wasn’t like she’d had the inclination to fight it. Zach was right about one thing for sure—no one needed to know. And for now, naked in Zach’s bed, she was perfectly happy with that idea.

“Hungry?” he asked, pulling her closer.

She laughed. “Oh, right. I forgot I’d come over for dinner.”

“I’m not sure if what just happened makes me a terrible host or a great one...” Zach got up from the bed and stepped into his boxer briefs.

Paige followed suit, scooting across the mattress and finding her bra and panties on the floor. “I lean toward great.”

He glanced over at her. “Do you want something else to wear? I mean, you look spectacular in that dress, but maybe I have something more comfortable for you?”

“Yes. I would love that. Thank you.”

Zach headed into his closet and Paige followed. He headed straight for a shelf where there were several stacks of T-shirts and a few sweatshirts. “How about this?” He presented a large gray pullover sweatshirt with a Harvard logo on it.

“Definitely the closest I’ll ever come to getting into Harvard.”

“Perfect.” He tossed it to her. “Now to find you some pants.”

She threaded it over her head and pushed up the sleeves. It was a little big on her, but not too much. When she looked over at Zach, he’d put on a pair of gray pajama pants and was sifting through a drawer. She stepped closer to him and put her hand on his bare back. She loved being able to touch him like that, without reservation. “Any luck? I mean, I don’t need to wear pants.”

Looking her up and down, he sent ripples of heat through her. “You do look spectacular just as you are.” He fished out a plain T-shirt for himself, then shut the drawer. “So that’s settled. Now let’s go get you fed.”

After he put on a shirt, which was a bit of a disappointment for Paige, they exited his bedroom and padded down the hall to grab the bottle of wine she’d brought, and eventually they walked into his kitchen and great room. Everything was of the finest quality, with high-end chef’s appliances, marble countertops and custom cabinetry. He flipped on the light above the range, but the lighting was otherwise quite soft and romantic.

“Can I open the wine?” she asked.

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